Christmas 2015 has come and gone hopefully with good memories to carry us through another year. My sincere thanks to Patsy Colbert who sent an email describing their memorable Christmas. Patsy said, “We had a wonderful fun filled Christmas celebration with all of our children and grandchildren on Christmas Eve! We made Memories at Meme’s making cupcakes and decorating them for Jesus’ birthday. We also decorated tea cakes to leave for Santa and spent the afternoon enjoying a game of croquet with the younger ones. The older grandkids came over early and we enjoyed visiting, napping and cooking together. We had traditional chicken and dressing because we cannot have a family meal without their favorite, PawPaw’s dumplings. We certainly enjoyed the Martha Washington balls, Oreo balls, chocolate cake and cream cheese cherry pies. The presents were opened with such excitement but the time spent with our family was priceless and there is nothing like a new baby to make everything perfect. We are blessed beyond measure and 2015 was a great year for the Colbert Family!”

To use one of Louis Lander’s favorite phase, the RT had a “Blast from the Past” when a young man came in with a photo of “The Fabulous Sonics”, a local rock and roll band in the 60’s. Rusty Harrell attended DHS a short time in the 60’s and became a part of this group when he heard them rehearsing in one of the bays at the Diboll Exxon station. In 1966. Paul Tucker owned the station at the time and his son, Bill Everett a DHS senior, played guitar and sang. Playing the drums was Ronnie Rector. Ronnie Emsoff was the lead singer. Rusty Harrell joined the band and played bass guitar. Little ‘UN (Hulen) Squyres played the organ. All of these members were documented on their business card that Rusty has kept through the years. This popular band played for sock hops and frequently played at the Backdoor Club in Lufkin and battled with another rock and roll band “The Annihilators”. Rusty couldn’t remember but two members of that band and they were David Wimp and Curtis Wayne Grimes.

We had a nice time visiting about “The Fabulous Sonics” with Rusty Harrell who lives in the Beaumont area and works for Gulf States Utilities. While in town he had plans to visit Bobby and Cozetta Watson and his cousin, Betty Jo Jarred.

One of our favorite people, Leroy Lazarine, was honored for his 16 years of faithful volunteering at the Joe W. Elliott house. Hospice-in-the-Pines had a reception to celebrate Leroy’s retirement at the end of 2015. Years ago, after Leroy retired from the Big Tin Barn, he wanted to be of help and assistance to those who were dealing with cancer or other terminal illnesses in return for those who helped him and his family during the time his beautiful wife, Georgia, lost her courageous battle with cancer in 1984. Every Wednesday since February 2000, Leroy has donated 4 hours of his time at the Joe W. Elliott house. He received a plaque honoring him for his faithful years of Exceptional Service. Attending, in addition to staff members from Hospice and the Elliott House, were members of Leroy’s family that included daughters; Allison Amason; Diana Roche and Lorraine Dorman and grandson, Clarke Dorman.

Mike Mathis took time to sit down at the RT and visit with us about the NRF, National Rodeo Finals, which were held in Las Vegas during December. Mike is an announcer and was nominated again this year as one of the Top 5 for the title of “Rodeo Announcer of the Year”. Mike says the rodeo in Las Vegas is an exciting production with all the lights and sound but it moves really fast. There are ten days of rodeo finals. The performances are televised and everything has to work precisely to get the show done in two hours. Only the top 15 contestants in each event make it to the finals. Having watched Mike at the Lufkin Rodeo for years, I asked him about his horse. Mike has been announcing for 30 years and has had several horses but his present one is named “Frog” and he is 10-12 years old. I also asked him about one of my favorite clowns, Liesel Harris who is from Collierville, TN. Liesel has received the honor of being “Clown of the Year” four times at the NRF. Before clowning professionally, Liesel was a regular performer on the “Hee Haw” TV show and has a picture to prove that at one time he played the drums with Elvis.

Mike told us at the National Rodeo Finals this year that John Payne received for his 13th time, the Entertainer of the Year for a Dress Act and John Harris was Clown of the Year. He also said that Charlie Daniels preformed one night during the pre-rodeo show, singing the National Anthem and also an original song he had written for the occasion. Mike and his brother Peyton grew up in their dad’s feed store, Lufkin Farm Supply where “Red” Mathis taught them by example, to say, “Yes” mam. Their dad would say, “I don’t care what time you go to bed, be at work at 6:30 in the morning”. Mike announces about 42 rodeos a year and travels all over Texas and from Florida to Utah and feels lucky to do what he loves.

Boy, did the calories roll in this year. In addition to Andrea making pounds of peanut and pecan brittle, pralines, buckeyes, pies and cakes, Tina Jowell brought us large warm cinnamon rolls early one morning to go with our hot coffee. Kathy Parish sent Joe to the RT with a platter of homemade Reece’s peanut butter cookies and homemade fudge. Jimmy McCall brought us two cans of mixed nuts; Joyce and Earl Carr brought us a cheese ball; Peggy Burt brought a huge burlap bag full of a variety of popcorn. There were also all kinds of homemade cookies and Christmas desserts. Our creative friend, Margie Bass, brought us crochet scarfs and a handy pot scrubber which gets used almost daily. Our thanks to each and every one for every delicious calorie.

I was so disappointed to miss seeing Dick and Betty Albrecht when they stopped by to visit. They had driven from Florida where they live and had been to visit their son who lives in the Hemphill area and were on their way to visit their daughter Melissa in the Austin area. They did enjoy visiting with Andrea and J.D. and Sue Johnson at the RT.

Also, a Big Thank you to the Businesses and Individuals who donated items for the bingo baskets and door prizes. KST Child Care, Diboll Free Press, Dessia Fowler, Phyllis Kirkland, Sue Baker, Fran McClain, Mary Hendry, Jimmie Woodard, His and Hers Trade Days, Sandra Pouland, Hal and Linda Cordell.
I can tell you I certainly enjoyed attending the Christmas Ladies Luncheon Bingo. The food was good and visiting with friends was great. I sat at the table with Carol Gartman, Becky Donahoe, Bessie Furgurson and her sister, Dorothy Barlow and Ruth Mullins who just happened to have photos of her newest red headed granddaughter who belongs to her son Ted. Ruth was excited she was able to spend Thanksgiving with Ted, his wife and three other daughters and looking forward to returning soon.

Clevette Mark was the winner of the huge basket of goodies given away by the alumni association. The proceeds benefit their scholarship fund.
Sandra Lee is married to Keith Lee and works at The Campbell Group. When she came in for pecans she told me about her father-in-law, Leighton Lee, who owned Lee’s Grocery years ago at the same location where we are today. I can’t believe it, but Leighton is 92 and up until last April drove himself to the mall every day to walk for exercise. He had a quadruple bypass in April and is doing pretty good. Keith is a policeman for the city of Nacogdoches. He and Sandra have two children and three grandsons: Gunnar, age 10; Max, age 8 and Tucker, age 3.

Longtime friends from Diboll High School, Ima (Riley) Weisinger and Mary (Telford) Sheffield came in to visit for a few minutes. Mary lives in Port Neches (I think) and drove to Diboll to spend the night with Ima and attend the retirement party for Robert Telford of Advanced Financial. The party was held at the Museum of East Texas and Mary and Ima both couldn’t believe the 133 decorated Christmas trees on display. That night at Ima’s these two talked themselves to sleep trying to catch up on everything since their last visit. The next day they drove from place to place reminiscing about the good times they had growing up here. Mary’s parents, Milton “Bill” Telford and her mother Mary lived at the south end of First Street in Diboll. The girls drove by the old home place, Ryan Chapel church and the Pine Valley area.

Sam Baker came in for some of our gourmet foods and bought preserves and jelly for the “cat head” biscuits he planned to make that evening. Andy Jarvis came in with his dog, P.J., who was rescued from the pound to be his wife’s dog but P. J. has bonded with Andy and they are inseparable. P. J. takes every step Andy does and rides in his lap while driving. He loves to take a shower and has his own soap and shampoo. P. J. is very well behaved and responds to Andy’s commands to sit, stay and sing. Yes, Andy and P. J. sang a “howling” duet and on some evenings P.J. attends choir practice and lays at Andy’s feet while he plays the piano at Keltys Baptist Church.

It always warms my heart when I learn that people love Diboll and East Texas as much as I do. One of our loyal customers, Dwain Brown, told me how he got here from upstate New York. Dwain was born in Ohio and learned the construction industry. He and his wife Cynthia had two sons, John Dustin and Jason Allen. The last winter they lived in Brockport NY area they had 190” of snow! That‘s when Dwain decided to move. Early in 1991 they borrowed his parents’ motor home and spent three weeks “exploring” through Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, East and West Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Oklahoma and Missouri. When they returned home, he asked his wife, “Where do you want to live?” She replied, “East Texas”.

Dwain headed for East Texas in June of 1991 he stopped in the Marshall area but his travels brought him south on 59 to Diboll where he stopped in at the Temple Inland office and applied for a job and was hired within the week. The family rented a house at first but eventually bought a house on FM 1818 in Shawnee Prairie with enough land to fulfill his childhood dream of raising cattle. Dwaine said this area and the great state of Texas have been good to him and his family. Both of his boys graduated from Huntington and college. John “Dusty” graduated from SFA with a BS in Music and attended UT at Arlington to work on a Master’s in music. He is presently teaching music in the Tomball ISD and plays in the Houston Community Band and other small groups. While in high school, Dusty was invited to play, two different times, with students from all over the US at Carnegie Hall in New York City.

Jason graduated from Texas A&M with a BA in Agriculture Systems, spent four years in the Air Force and spent time in Germany and Afghanistan. After completing his active duty, Jason attended Sam Houston and received a BS in Accounting, moved to Denver, CO to attend Colorado University and is graduating this month with a Master’s in Accounting and also a Master’s in Tax. His plans are to receive a Doctorate in Accounting. Cynthia passed away in 2009. In 2011 Dwain met Susan a Texas lady and airline attendant from San Antonio. They started a new life but continue to raise cattle and Susan is raising Foundation Bred Performance Quarter horses for reining, cutting and roping. They are blessed and thankful to live in such a wonderful place as East Texas.

If you receive the Free Press in time and still need a Christmas gift. We have autographed copies of Tom Perini’s TEXAS COWBOY COOKING. The foreword is written by his friend, Robert Duvall. The cost is $24.95.

The store plans to close at 1PM on Christmas Eve and will be closed on Christmas Day and also the following Saturday and of course, Sunday. We wish you a very Merry Christmas and Blessed New Year.
Come see us…’round the table.

A few days ago, Don Hendrick treated his wife Sandy to a “Fab 5” trip to Grapevine to spend a night at the Gaylord Texan hotel. The “Fab 5” is a group of DHS graduates that includes: Rita (Hutto) Howard; Janie (Black) McCann; Margie (Welch) Ballard and Bernice (Arnold) Trimmell and Sandy (Black) Hendrick. These girls get together as often as they can to have fun. Bernice and Margie had other places to go so Allison (Lazarine) Amason and Laurel (Hendrick) Youngblood made up the Fab 5 for this trip; these two are also DHS graduates from a younger generation. Rita lives in the Dallas area and met all the others at the Gaylord for lunch. They also saw Clara, Jennie and Lizzie Ferguson in the lobby of the hotel.

Later that Thursday, the group went downtown Grapevine to watch the Parade of Lights and met up with Diana (Cook) and her husband Kevin Albrecht who live there. Their daughter, Haley is a star soccer player and rode on the soccer float in the parade. After the three-hour parade, Diana and Haley joined the Fab 5 for dinner back at the hotel.

On Friday the Fab 5 strolled through The Gaylord Texan’s magical indoor winter wonderland annual ICE Exhibit, featuring more than 2 million pounds of colorful, hand-carved sculptures. The 14,000-square-foot exhibit is filled with themed ice sculptures and kept at a numbing 9 degrees. Inside is 2 million pounds of ice, carved by more than 40 ice sculptors, into symbols of Christmas and well-known, holiday animated characters. There are also huge ice slides to ride down; Allison and Sandy were the only two that had the nerve to slide down. The ICE Exhibit also boasts one-and-a-half million twinkling lights, 12,000 ornaments, a 52-foot-tall rotating Christmas tree, and a life-sized gingerbread house. After all this excitement, the girls did some shopping and had dinner at Maguire’s restaurant in Dallas. All five of the girls spent the night at Rita’s fabulous new home at Highland Springs with lots of fun and laughter and reluctantly returned home on Saturday.

Dianne and Mike Gibson recently returned from a trip to Norfolk, VA. After serving in the US Navy during 1964-67, Mike enjoyed touring the historical Naticus Naval Museum which had on display the battleship Wisconsin. Dianne’s favorite part of the trip, other than shopping for souvenirs, was touring Williamsburg during the Christmas season. Mike enjoyed another museum in Yorktown learning more about the American Revolution. They took pictures of Myrtle Beach on the way to Charleston, SC to Patriot Point where Mike was able to visit “his” ship, the USS Yorktown where he worked as a machinist’s mate in the engine room while serving in the South China Sea, 12 miles off the coast of Viet Nam. He remembered the ship being very hot and the only AC was in the officers’ quarters. George H. W. Bush’s plane, the Avenger, is presently displayed on the flight deck. Mike was disappointed that he couldn’t tour the places he actually worked and bunked but admitted the ladders seem steeper and narrower than 50 years ago. It was another good trip for them but Mike had to get back home to put up the Christmas lights.

Jim McClain visited at the RT for the first time since he and Judy moved to Bastrop where he stays busy as the Service Manager of Covert Auto Group. They purchased a new home in Bastrop and Judy stays busy teaching college Education classes to teachers. Their daughter Allison continues to work in media relations at the University of Houston. Their son, Wes, and Will Griffin of Lufkin are in the process of moving to Dallas with plans to play lots of golf at the Dallas Athletic Club.
Melissa McCall came in and we learned that her mom, Betty McCall, quietly celebrated her 80th birthday at home on December 1st. All Betty wanted for her birthday was one egg roll from Diboll’s Jack-in-the Box and it got cold while she enjoyed talking on the phone with several members of her family in West Virginia and Ohio.

Sue Johnson was not with J. D. Johnson when he shared with me how and where they spent Thanksgiving. I hated to tell Sue when she asked me later that J.D. failed to mention that Thanksgiving Day this year was their 55th wedding anniversary. A belated “Happy Anniversary”.

A long time reader of the Diboll Free Press, Dan Davidson and his wife, Ing, visited at the round table for the first time. Dan discussed their ancestors as John Ralph’s grandmother was May Davidson. Dan told us his dad was a sharecropper where the Little Flock church is located today in the Homer area and attended Huntington schools. He served in the US Army 1958-64 and while in Germany picked up a pretty girl (Ing) who had missed her bus and a year later they were married. They have two children; Danita Houston who works at the Kelsey Seabold clinic in Houston and their son Tony who lives near them on Highway 103 and owns Davidson Motor Sports.

Many thanks to Bessie Furgurson and Dalana Hendrick who coordinated and organized another successful Christmas Blessings which was sponsored by the Diboll Civic Club. The final count was near 250 children that will have a better Christmas this year because of the many caring volunteers and donations that were given from merchants, members and residents of Diboll.

And many many thanks to Margie Harrell and the many volunteers working through the Diboll Housing Authority and Diboll Christian Outreach for another successful Christmas dinner and program for us senior citizens of Diboll. So many volunteers work days before preparing for the meal and an amazing number of volunteers show up to serve the people. The civic center was filled to capacity and all enjoyed a delicious meal of chicken and dressing with all the trimmings and a variety of entertainment, door prizes and everyone took home a bag of gifts. John and Mable (Nivens) Powers, who grew up in Diboll, but have not lived here in years attended the dinner for the first time and were amazed to see the large crowd of volunteers honoring hundreds of seniors. The Powers recently moved into Pine Crest and invited their neighbor, Laverne Ward, to ride with them to the big event.

If you have noticed in a few places around Diboll, there are three quart fruit jars with a picture taped to each one. The pictures are DHS Coach Blake Morrison, DHS Principal, John Clements and DISD Superintendent, Gary Martel. The objective is to decide which of these you would like to see “Kiss a Pig” because whichever one receives the most money is the lucky winner. On January 19 at the DHS varsity basketball game against Hudson, Charlie, the potbelly pig will be ready to receive a big kiss from one of these three guys. So, get your money out and go vote. Jars are located here at Pouland’s; Temple Credit Union; Diboll High School, Ace Hardware and the DISD Administration building.

The David McCall family spent an unforgettable Thanksgiving in New York City. David and Brenda and daughters, Datha and Bridgette, traveled along with their son, Brandon who is a member of the SFA band, to the Big Apple to watch the band march in Macy’s parade. Two chartered planes were met by seven buses to transport the 300+ group which arrived on Tuesday. Some of their time was spent seeing the sights of NYC that included the solemn Ground Zero, Times Square, Top of the Rock, Empire State building and a dinner cruise on the Spirit of New York with a beautiful view of Manhattan’s skyline. On Thanksgiving Day, band members had to be dressed in their uniforms at 1:30 in the morning for a 3AM rehearsal for the parade. After the rehearsal, the entire group ate Thanksgiving breakfast at Planet Hollywood and then back to the parade route that began at 10AM. The McCalls watched the parade standing at 6th Avenue and 55th streets. All the McCall family, along with the entire group, enjoyed a Thanksgiving dinner at The Chart House. On Friday the group split for their own shopping and touring and had a choice of four Broadway shows that evening; the McCall family saw the fantastic production of Phantom of the Opera. The dream ended on Saturday with the flight home but it was the beginning of many memories that will last a lifetime.

The weekend after Thanksgiving, Louis and Fran Rodriguez came by to pick up some potting soil and pecans and reported that their children Angela and Jason had visited them for Thanksgiving. Son Jason brought his special friend Michelle and their furry grand dog named Deuce. They all enjoyed a pleasant sit-down Thanksgiving meal with other guests which included Fran’s brother and his wife, Alfred and Bertha Miranda. After their meal everyone went to Tom and Marty Harris’ home where a large family clan had gathered for a huge Thanksgiving meal and family get-to-gather. Fran laughingly disclosed that they were on their way to see one of the newer movies “The Good Dinosaur.” It’s strange as we become “older” some of us want to share some of the younger generation’s entertainment choices.

Cooper Allen Johnston was born in the last five minutes of December 5th in Dallas, Texas. His parents are Lauren and Judd Johnston. Lauren is the daughter of Ann and Mark Hafernick of Diboll. Judd’s parents are Jerry & Tracy Johnson of Corpus Christi. All of them were present for the big event along with Lauren’s brother and sister-in-law, Brian and Angela Hafernick of Lufkin and her Aunt Becky Strahan. There were many pictures on Mark’s phone of him holding Cooper in his monogramed toboggan and a special “reindeer” cap. Lauren is an Event Planner for Sky Ranch Ministries and her husband Judd is a veterinarian. I thought it was interesting that his twin brother is also a veterinarian and the Hafernick’s son, Brian is a veterinarian and his wife Angela is a Family Medical doctor. Brian and Angela have a 3-year-old son, Gibson, who stayed with Angela’s sister and brother-in-law, Michelle and Ron Haney in Lufkin.

Mark and Ann Hafernick already had tickets to carry their grandson Gibson on the Polar Express train ride in Palestine Sunday evening. Baby Cooper’s arrival changed their plans some in that Ann stayed in Dallas while Mark, Brian and Angela drove to Palestine where they met Michelle and Ron Haney who brought Gipson in his pj’s and their two daughters, Alex and Millie, to ride the train. I can’t tell who had the most fun, Grandpa Hafernick or Gibson who enjoyed everything about the ride, especially when they picked up Santa at the North Pole.

A few weeks ago, John Ralph and I ate lunch in Livingston at My Place restaurant which recently moved into the building that was formally The Texas Pepper. It’s on the east side of highway 59 before Highway 190 (in fact, you have to turn onto 190 and make a U-turn to get to the restaurant. It is a country café atmosphere with antiques conveniently displayed and the day we were there, it was a full house. Our table was next to a couple that enjoyed meeting people as we do and we enjoyed visiting with them. This past week, that couple stopped by The Everything Store and we learned more about them. They are Harry and Julia Armitage, both are natives of Livingston, Texas and are now retired. Harry was in the business of constructing sawmills and Julia started the Whistle Stop Café and at one time, owned Julia’s Boutique. They have a daughter, DeeAnn whose husband, Tim Thompson, is the pastor of the Leggett Baptist Church where they attend. Their son, David Ray, is also retired and lives in Cleveland. After a short visit, Julia and Harry left with fresh pecans and some of Andrea’s pecan and peanut brittle.

Speaking of homemade baking, we must give a hearty “thank you” to Sue Crain who works with Eck Franks at First Bank and Trust on Frank Street. Sue sent us a delicious Rum Cake and a few days later, in a beautifully decorated Christmas box, some of her homemade iced tea cakes. She loves to bake and we can attest that she is very good at it.

Another “thank you” to First Bank and Trust in Diboll for the new colorful Christmas decorations they added this year. A bright red “Merry Christmas” and a colorful train moving down the track. The Diboll Civic Club encourages people to drive through Old Orchard Park in the evening to see the lighted decorations that will be there until after Christmas. Anyone is invited to add a scene to the several that are already there…it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! The Diboll Civic Club also invites you to attend the annual Christmas in the Park on Wednesday, December 16th at 6PM. On Tuesday, December 15th, there will be a Ladies Luncheon Bingo at 11:30 AM in the Family Education Center’s cafeteria on the old elementary campus. The food, prizes, fun and fellowship are always good.

Met Bridgette Krause when she came in the store. Bridgette moved to Huntington from Colorado about a year ago. She and her three children, ages six, three and one now live near her mother and 90-year-old grandmother. It’s interesting that Bridgette raises miniature jersey cows; they can’t be more than 42” high. At the present time, she has 11 cows in her herd and is very knowledgeable about the milk they give. A big percentage of jerseys produce A2A2 milk which researchers believe is beneficial to people who are lactose intolerant and have internal and external allergies and acne. If you interested, look on the Internet for “The Devil in the Milk”
Andrea wants to remind anyone that is looking for a good cookbook to give as a Christmas present, she has several copies of the Livingston FFA Cookbook for $10. Pouland’s also has fresh pecans and gourmet food items in addition to all the other “stuff” we sell.
Come see us…’round the table.

Susie (Capps) Jones grew up in Diboll and graduated from DHS and now teaches in the Central. ISD. She shared with me that Central High School has two campus wide community service days in their calendar year to provide opportunities and engage their students in activities that promote service to others. They have one day in the fall before Thanksgiving break and one day in the spring around the Easter break when students load buses with club sponsors and teachers and go out to various locations to serve and “give back”. She stated, “CHS Superintendent, Dr. Allan Garner and CHS Principal Justin Risner see the importance of teaching their students about serving others and supporting communities.”

Because Susie’s mom, Billie Jean Capps, is a longtime volunteer at Diboll Christian Outreach, Susie was well aware of the need for peanut butter and encouraged her students to help meet that need by collecting jars and traveling to Christian Outreach. They “served” by distributing and helping clients to their cars with their bags of groceries. This was their third year to come to Diboll Christian Outreach and they set a new record by collecting 364 jars of peanut butter. CHS student groups who served this year were: College Leadership, GEAR UP, AVID and NHS

During the Thanksgiving holiday, lots of folks enjoyed good food and visiting with family because someone spent time in the kitchen preparing a meal. Billie and Leonard Robison shared their home and a traditional meal with 16 guests that included: his sister, Erna Adams from Texarkana; son Leonard, Jr., Camille and her mother, Wanda Rickaway. Grandsons: Michael and his girlfriend and soon-to-be fiancée, Allison from Dallas; Jacob McGowan and family from Pearland; and great-grands, Liberty, Logan and Luke. Also longtime good missionary friends now retired and living in Ft. Worth, Johnny and Lahoma Loar. Joe Miranda also enjoyed the meal that included some of Chef Leonard’s smoked pork loin.

Mike and Renée Waters enjoyed the day in their home with their children and family that included Renee’s parents Titter and Harold Hogan from Newton and his sister Benny Ruth from San Antonio. Mike’s parents, Bill and Sylvia Waters from Lufkin. Their son Doug, soon-to-be UT graduate, came home from Austin. Doug is the senior student manager for the baseball team. When he graduates Doug will have three class rings: a regular class ring; one for athletics and one for the Big 12 Conference Baseball Champion. Also present was 2-1/2 year old granddaughter, Alli Christmas, who everyone enjoyed, brought her parents, Chelsea and Jarrod Christmas.

J.D. and Sue Johnson spent Thanksgiving with her sister and family, Mollie and Brax Haney. From J. D.’s memory, those present included Rocky and Tammy Haney and her mother, Louise; their son, Grant and his sister, Jordan and friend. Chuck Haney was also present. Sue contributed a corn casserole and J.D.’s favorite fruit salad to the traditional meal of turkey and dressing, chicken and dumplings, peas, sweet potatoes, desserts and more. As tradition has it, they watched football in the afternoon.

Enjoying a traditional meal in the home of Kent and Lisa Havard were her parents, Travis and Karon McLinn and Kent’s sister, Carla Waggoner, her two sons, Hunter and Jacob. Johnny McShands and his parents from Huntington. Kent’s Uncle John and Sissy Havard from Lufkin and their daughter, Amy; Robin and Brian McFarland and daughter Ryan from Georgetown. Kent and Lisa’s two daughters were also present: Cheslea who works for the City of Lufkin and Kirby and her friend, Caesar from College Station. Kirby moved to College Station when she was promoted to Office Manager at Ashley Furniture.

Gordon and Rita Craft enjoyed having their three sons and families at their home in Diboll. Brian and his wife Christine live in Dallas where he works in the corporate offices of CVS; their two sons are Jacob and Zachary. James and Lori Lee; James is the chaplain for Harbor Hospice and Lori Lee teaches in Hudson. Kevin and Mary; Kevin works for Consolidated and Mary also teaches in Hudson; their two sons are Collin and Nolan. On Friday several members of the Craft family gathered at Kevin’s home and enjoyed making homemade pork and venison sausage.

Of the folks I visited with at the round table, Marvin “Shorty” and Jeanene Hale had company that came further than anyone else. Their son and daughter-in-law, Craig and Kristi came from Nampa, Idaho with their two children; Mason, age 13 and Kali, age 10. Marvin and Jeanene picked up Craig’s family at the Houston airport on a Sunday morning in time to attend the Sawyer family reunion at 2PM at the Sheldon’s Barn on FM 2108 (Lois Sheldon and Jeanene are sisters). About 65 relatives enjoyed BBQ and all the trimmings. The next few days the grandchildren enjoyed roaming in the country side of the Hales’ home on Rayburn Lake. Living in the city, Jeanene said the kids get excited about seeing a lizard. One day was spent at the Kurth Zoo where they practically had “hands on” visit with the hippo and monkeys. At their insistent request, Marvin and Jeanene rode the train with everyone and due to engine issues, had to walk back to the depot. Craig had two things to do on his “bucket list” and that was to eat at Schlotzsky’s and Dean’s in Huntington. They also took time to visit his 90-year-old grandmother, Geraldine “Jerry” Spivey, who lives with her son and daughter-in-law, Randy and Tanya Spivey. On Saturday, it was all over except for the flight back to Idaho.

Check out the TLL Temple website or read in their column about the Kid’s Paint Party on December 11th, 6-8PM. Sounds very interesting!
Come see us…’round the table.

Although she grew up in Florida and calls Diboll home, Linda Cordell is partial to the state of Georgia as that is where her husband Hal grew up; in Hartwell, Georgia. That’s why she knows our pecans are so good because they come from Georgia also. When she came in I learned she and Hal have returned home after being away for 3-1/2 weeks. Their plans were to visit their daughter and family in Oceanside, CA. but upon the recommendation from a friend, Buford Abeldt, and having the extra time they decided to go by way of Glacier National Park in Wyoming to experience the “Going-to-the-Sun Road”. One of the most amazing highlights of Glacier National Park, this scenic 50 mile-two lane road is an engineering marvel through the park’s interior that provides stunning views of mountain peaks, high valley, wildflowers and wildlife and some of the best sights in northwest Montana. Traveling down the coast of Oregon they arrived in Oceanside, CA where they were anxious to see their six-year-old granddaughter, Ellison, and her mom and dad, Michele and Nick McDonald.( “Ellison” is Hal’s middle name and goes back five generations.) Linda and Hal enjoyed a restful week visiting with family. During that time all the neighbors gathered in the street and had a Thanksgiving meal. Linda made cornbread dressing and now they are all ready for Hal to bring the Texas cook back to CA. It was a good trip and the two took the quickest way home to Diboll.

Diboll’s former mayor and retired banker, James Simms, said last year he hunted over a month before he saw a legal deer and on December 30th got a nice 10 point but that was last year. He has a theory about his deer hunting that takes into consideration (as most hunters) the size, symmetry or uniqueness of horns. This year on the third day of the season James decided to consider “uniqueness” and brought home a deer with a brow tine that was “knife-like”. He has several more days of hunting in hopes of finding the perfect rack.

Johnnie Simpson came in for pecans and enjoyed visiting at the round table with JoNell Placker and others. Johnnie recently was invited by her DHS classmate, Othal Lowery to a chauffeured trip to Shreveport to spend some time at Margaritaville. Several other ladies from Huntington enjoyed the trip and left the driving to DeShae Franks.

Five-year-old Allison Martz stole the show and won the hearts of everyone at the round table when she came in with her granddaddy, Gary and her dad, Kevin. She has a younger sister, two-year-old Taylor. Driving from Ft. Worth, Kevin and his wife Lindsay and the girls arrived for Thanksgiving several days early to enjoy spending time together. Allison and her granddaddy had a list of things to do during the week. One of them was to come to the feed store and go on to Neches Pines golf course. Finding pretty colored leaves, riding the golf cart and feeding the fish at granddaddy and GG’s were other things to do. Kevin graduated from Texas A&M and works at BNSF Railroad doing logistics. His wife Lindsay was born in Alaska, grew up in Katy and graduated from Rice; they met in Houston. Kevin’s sister, Stacy, was to arrive on Wednesday from College Station to spend Thanksgiving with the family.

Enjoyed visiting with Faye Bergquist when she came in with her daughter, Glenna Santo, to buy pecans. They both live in Brookhollow and Peggy Lankford is Faye’s sister-in-law. Faye graduated from SFA and taught Home Economics wherever her husband worked starting paper mills in Longview, Austin, Houston, Alabama and Tennessee. It’s always good to visit with friends, Wanda and Fred Matzenbacher, and Jim and Sharon Kennedy when they come for pecans. Other in buying pecans included Linda and Mack Coward, Karen Poole, George and Susan Turner, Marie Dear, Ed Hance, Jake Havard, Morris Smith, Geneva Ard, Patti Block Shockley, Kathy McMillen, Brenda Rye and Sandy Carlisle.

Jerry Sue Williams, owner of Vintage N Vogue Salon and Resale on Frank Street in Lufkin, came in for pecans. She has been established in Lufkin for more than 30 years and also sells antiques. Her daughter, Dana Williams, is also a hair stylist. Her son, Darin, is a retired US Air Force officer who lives in the Washington DC area and her son, David Vincent Williams, is a singer and songwriter who lives in Nashville. David was awarded Best Song of the Year in 2002 for writing “I’m Moving On” recorded by Rascal Flatts.

Small Business Saturday is November 28th one day after Black Friday which is one day after Thanksgiving. The purpose is to encourage people to shop locally with small business owners. Our plans for Small Business Saturday at Poulands will be to have a “tasting” of the several Gourmet Food items we sell. Some of these include jam, jelly, pickled foods, salsa and chow chow. We hope you will take the time and stop by and taste but come early because we do close at noon.

Please come and bring a friend to a Benefit Bingo for Jessica Fisher Pouland Tuesday, December 1st at the Lottie and Arthur Temple Civic Center. Games begin at 7PM, doors will open at 6PM and concessions will be available. Ten games and one blackout for $1 per card. There will be gift cards for Christmas shopping and most anyone would love to have the Ruger 1022 rifle donated by Carl Ferguson. Jessica has cystic fibrosis and is waiting to receive a double lung transplant. Proceeds from the bingo will go toward her expenses. More than anything she needs your prayers.

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. I Thes 5:16
Have a Blessed Thanksgiving and come see us…’round the table.
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A special HELLO to Betty Jo Flowers who faithfully reads the Diboll Free Press. Betty lives in Huntington with her daughter, Teresa Green. Betty sent a message by Teresa to let us know how much she misses living in Diboll. Betty and her husband, lived in the Lake View area for about 50 years; after he died she sold their home and moved to Huntington. Betty said she really misses her home, her friends and living in Diboll. I assure you Betty that you are also missed. God bless you.
Aline Stovall celebrated her 94th birthday on November 10th. Visiting with her and her son, Joe Paul Stovall, were her nephew Lee Matthews from Austin and his sister and husband, Emily and Bill Sinclar from Cypress. Lee and Joe Paul both graduated in 1962; Lee from Lufkin and Joe Paul from Diboll. As a lawyer Lee worked with several state departments including the Water Quality Board. Lee and Emily’s parents were Haynes and Jewel Matthews who lived in Lufkin and at one time after retiring moved to South Meadows here in Diboll.

Rodney and Cathy Lott and children from Zavalla were excited about traveling to College Station last Friday to spend an exciting weekend in and around Texas A&M. Sophomore Kaitlyn Lum from Zavalla was to be their host and event planner for the weekend. Plans included attending the Midnight Yell Practice and early Saturday morning Step-off. Kaitlyn had 12 seats reserved for the game.

With the arrival of our fresh pecans from Georgia, it is always good to renew acquaintances with those who make their annual pecan pilgrimage to Pouland’s. True to character, Carolyn Salas and Peggy Simmons were some of the first to come purchase pecans. A short time later came Dorothy Hughey, Jeanette Rodriques and Jean Fox. Betty Huizer and Joe Sosa are also good pecan customers. Andrea always enjoys visiting with two of her husband’s (Kevin Swor), former teachers; Eloise Richardson his 2nd grade and Dorothy Owen, 5th grade teacher, both taught him at Slack elementary. Others who came in for pecans include Sally Selman and her neighbor, Betty Johnson; and Rebecca Holton.

Pam Boles came for pecans just in time to use them in a recipe for pecan pie cobbler to serve that evening at Calvary Baptist at a dinner to honor the veterans in their church. Darla (Smith) Thomason co-ordinates the Wednesday evening meals with lots of help from other volunteers.

Maxine Holcomb, Pat Brown and Barbara Clark came in together. These three ladies from Hudson had been to lunch at Restoration Bar in the restored Angelina Hotel to celebrate Barbara’s birthday. The day before JoAnn Rainwater also celebrated a late birthday with a delicious lunch at the Restoration Bar with longtime friends, Ginger Capps, Nita Hurley, myself and her sister, Betty Hendrick.

Jeanetta Stewart and Edna Killion came for pecans on Friday the 13th, which was Jeanetta’s birthday. On the way here Jeanetta was driving while Edna read all her birthday greetings on Facebook.

Jeanene and Newt Courtney came in for pecans and left with a recipe for peanut/pecan brittle. Newt had eaten a sample of Andrea’s microwave pecan brittle and was ready to go home and make more for himself since Jeanene doesn’t eat sweets. The recipe came from LaVerne (Weeks) Ross from Silsbee who brings this sweet delicacy every month to the Super Seniors luncheon at First Baptist.

Driving all the way from Wells, not just for pecans but also to eat at Los Jarritos, was Bobbye Bourrous and friend, Rosalie Grayson. Ms. Grayson has two daughters in Lufkin; Kim Davis who was Realtor of the Year and Lynanne Alsbrooks who has Permanent Cosmetics by Nan located in Bella’s Salon. When they walked out the door, Bobbye was ready to order #39 from the menu at Los Jarritos.

Jim and Ladeen Pluss went to see the new James Bond movie Spectre before driving to Diboll for pecans. They highly recommend the movie as well as Tom Hanks’ Bridge of Spies.

Marty Harris and Pam Martinez stopped by to get pecans on their way home from Houston. Tina (Wolf) Jowell was already in the store and really enjoyed visiting with Pam and Marty. Pam reported that her husband Richard is back at work at Oncor but retirement is on his mind.

Pecan buyers making multiply trips to Poulands whether it’s because they need more pecans or just enjoying visiting at the round table or both, include Ray Henson, Thomas Moore, Jerry Hill and Andy Jordan. With everyone interested in pecans, it was good to have Letha Grandgeorge remind us that we still sell pinto beans.

Congratulations to Weston Reynolds son of Delbert and Jennifer Reynolds. Weston won First Place in Junior Creed Speaking at the McGee Bend District. He is very involved as a freshman at Huntington ISD where he serves as president of his class.

Hope you read Burlon Wilkerson’s article in the Diboll Free Press about DEMCO celebrating their 50th year of manufacturing. Our congratulations to Charles and Carolyn Schmidt for being chosen Angelina County’s Small Business of the Year by the Texas Forest Country Partnership.

A big heartfelt “Thank you” to all who ate at El Chico’s last Monday evening on behalf of Jessica Pouland’s fund-raiser. It was awesome, almost 200 people participated. Debbie Robison, Jessica’s grandmother, who organized this event said El Chico’s manager was overwhelmed by the support for Jessica. Proceeds will go toward her expenses when she receives a double lung transplant. Plans are in the process for a Benefit Bingo on December 1st at the Lottie and Arthur Temple Civic Center. One hundred dollar raffle tickets are being sold with the chance of winning $10,000 cash. Only 200 tickets will be sold. If you are interested in purchasing one, contact Teresa Pouland at Vintage Blooms, 829-5556.
Come see us…-round the table.

Gary Martz stopped by the round table one morning and we learned they have experienced another great trip. Gary’s theory since retiring is “If you are not on a trip you need to be planning one”. His wife, Cathy, graciously wrote the following about their trip. Gary, Cathy, and Stacey Martz traveled to Paris and London in September. After an all night flight from Houston, they arrived in Paris at 7:30 am. After checking in to their hotel near the Arc du Triomphe, they headed out to see some of the main attractions of Paris. Having only 3 ½ days in the city, they tried to see as much as they could in a short period of time. They did a lot of walking, really enjoying the architecture of Paris, and used the metro (subway) to get to most places. Attractions they visited included the Eiffel Tower (both during the day and at night when it is lit up for a short period of time), the Palace of Versailles and its gardens, the Louvre, Notre-Dame and its bell tower, Sainte-Chapelle with the very beautiful and oldest stained glass in Paris, and the Conciergerie – the prison where Marie Antoinette was held. They were very surprised to see a military patrol made up of 3 armed (with machine guns) men in camo at every major tourist attraction in Paris. They were most impressed with the age of everything in Paris and the beautiful craftsmanship that went in to the buildings built in 1600s and before. They thoroughly enjoyed the many sidewalk cafes and parks in the city.

They traveled to London via the train beneath the English Channel for their 2 ½ day visit in that city. They took a hop-on, hop-off bus tour of the city to get an overall view of London. They enjoyed the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, high tea at the Dukes Hotel, the London Tower with the royal jewels, Westminster Abbey, the British Museum and the Churchill War Rooms, an underground office complex used in World War II.

Stacey returned home and Gary and Cathy traveled by train to Glasgow, Scotland where they began a 2 week bus tour of Scotland and Ireland. Their guide on the Scotland portion of the trip was a retired college history professor. He gave a very interesting talk throughout the beautiful countryside of Scotland with its many castles and battlefields. They visited at least one castle a day – all of them very different – and saw the ruins of many more scattered around the country. The highlight of the trip for Gary was a visit to the famous St. Andrews golf course. A 2 hour ferry ride took them to Belfast, Northern Ireland and its Titanic museum. They continued on to Dublin and spent the rest of the week traveling through the southwestern part of Ireland. They saw the Blarney stone, the Ring of Kerry with its coastline views and the Cliffs of Moher, 700 foot cliffs along the Atlantic Ocean. The Irish countryside was beautiful with its patchwork of small fields separated by rock fences covered with vines and shrubbery. “Leprechaun and fairy woods” were pointed out along the roads. The Irish government actually spent millions of dollars to redesign a highway project so that it would not cross a “fairy wood”! After a final night in Dublin, they flew back to Houston via London.

JR & I visited with Mike and Linda Whitten at Cracker Barrel one evening. They had three pretty young girls with them. One was their granddaughter, Emma Whitten, from Woodville and two exchange students; 16-year-old Omaima Boumrit from Italy and 17-year-old Tamara Lauth from Germany. Omaima speaks Arabic, French, Spanish, English, German and of course, Italian and plans to be an International Translator. Tamara speaks French and Spanish and her native German and hopes to become a surgeon. They are attending Lufkin ISD and have a long list of things they want to do while in America. Mike and Linda have already impressed the girls with a trip to Houston to see the Astros play and they have plans to take them to the beach, New Braunfels, Mardi Gras, Kemah Boardwalk, a rodeo and alligator farm. During spring break they have plans to sightsee in Alabama, Tennessee and North Carolina. I really couldn’t tell who was having more fun; the girls or Mike and Linda.

Don’t forget The Diboll Business Association’s Christmas Cash Give Away. From any participating Diboll merchant, pick up the attractive entry form, sign your name to individual cards and drop the tickets at the corresponding sponsoring business before December 1st. First Place is $300; Second is $200 and Third is $100 plus many additional prizes. Remember to shop in Diboll!

I have written about many fundraisers that benefit worthy causes. There are several coming and this time it affects my family. Jessica (Fisher) Pouland is married to our grandson, Brandal Pouland and they are parents of our precious 4-year-old Addison Grace. Jessica was born with Cystic Fibrosis. Her whole life has been a struggle to breathe. She takes countless medications and spends weeks in hospitals. Jessica is on a waiting list for a double lung transplant that could be at any time. The proceeds from the fund raisers will be to help with expenses not covered by insurance.

El Chico has graciously agreed to help with Jessica’s CFearless campaign by donating 10% of their dinner sales next Monday evening, November 16th between 5 and 9PM IF we can have at least 100 guests “sign in” and notify the hostess they are there to support Jessica Pouland. We encourage you to attend and tell someone about it. Let me say “thank you” in advance for helping. There is also a raffle in progress with a chance to win $10,000 CASH. Only 200 tickets will be sold at $100 each. Tickets are available here at Pouland’s and also at Vintage Blooms in JR’s Barn. Please mark your calendars for a Benefit Bingo that will be at the Lottie and Arthur Temple Civic Center on December 1. A $15.00 ticket will entitle anyone to a chicken and spaghetti dinner, 10 games of bingo and 1 blackout game. Again, we appreciate your help and covet your prayers for Jessica.

By the time you read this, we should have received a shipment of PECANS so get your recipes out and get ready. We would love for you to share your favorite recipe or ways you serve pecans.
Longtime teller at First Bank & Trust Diboll, Linda Miller, shared two of her grandchildren were lucky hunters last weekend. Clayton Wigley, son of Danny and Courtney Wigley, got a nice 12-point buck in Tyler County. Her 9-year-old granddaughter, Ainsley Stuck, came in the store last weekend with her dad, Jason Stuck, to purchase hunting licenses with plans to hunt on family land several hours from home. Ainsley was excited about going and really excited to become a veteran deer hunter.

Enjoyed visiting with Rick Rasbeary when he came in the store. Rick and his wife Sheila live at Westwood Shores in Trinity where he enjoys golfing. In the working world, Rick is a Division Manager at TDCJ, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, and is responsible for managing 14 garment factories in Texas. They make all the uniforms for the inmates and staff. Rick has been with TDCJ for 23 years and plans to retire in 3-1/2 years. While he was here, Andrea found an old picture in one of her albums of “Rickey Rasbeary, Grand Champion Steer, Groveton, 1987” Rick Rasbeary brought us up to date on his son and daughter-in-law, Ryan and Torree and 1-1/2 year old Ben. Little Ben’s proud grandparents are Ben and Lena Rasbeary. Ryan, Torree (who has completed her Master’s degree from SFA) and Ben moved from Nacogdoches in August to Lumberton where Ryan is the assistance varsity baseball coach. While living in Nacogdoches Ryan coached football and softball in Cushing where he was proud that the girls’ softball team made it to the quarterfinals.

We met one of our new Diboll policemen, Eli Lenderman, when he came in the store. Of course we had to ask our usual questions. Where are you from? Who are your parents? Where did you grow up?, etc. Well, he grew up in Central and we asked if he remembered Fran McGilvra who taught at Central for many years. His reply was “yes” and “she was a stickler on cursive writing”. Fran’s handwriting is perfect! Did you know, as I understand it, that students in public schools are only taught about 2-3 weeks how to write “cursive”?

Ronnie Coleman stopped by on his way home from visiting with his mother, Shirley Coleman, who is a short term resident of Larkspur. Shirley fell and is taking rehab for a couple of weeks. Her husband, Sam Coleman, spends all day with Shirley and Ronnie goes every day. Ronnie asked everyone to pray for his mother’s recovery.

Kenneth and Ann Ashworth stopped by the roundtable to visit. Kenneth grew up in Diboll and married a sweet Irish girl he met in Brooklyn, NY while in the Navy and eventually they moved to Ireland where they are serving as missionaries. Kenneth and Ann had lunch with the Super Seniors of Diboll First Baptist where he was happy to see and know that Bettye Greer remembered him from DHS. We all still agree that her husband, Bill Greer, a Biology teacher and later principal at DHS, was very respected by his students and had few discipline problems, if any.

Another former DHS student who graduated in1957, Royce Grimes and his lovely wife Kathy, stopped at the round table to visit. Royce’s niece, Vicky Shoemaker from Hudson, was with them. Vicky’s mother, Carolyn (Grimes) Jones, is Royce’s sister who graduated in 1958. Royce is a faithful fan of the Diboll Lumberjacks and Texas Longhorns. The trip from their home in Virginia Beach, VA was planned so they could fly into Houston in time to watch the Lumberjacks play in Shepherd. Royce wouldn’t tell me but the girls did, that he was quarterback of the Diboll Lumberjacks in 1957. His nickname was “Spoke” given to him by his classmates; Claude Edward Welch, Joe Anthony, Jimmy McCall and John Hannah. They always told Royce he wasn’t big enough to be a wheel, he was just a spoke; these are friends?

I learned while visiting with Vicky Shoemaker at the round table that she is married to Delwin who owns A&B Body shop and their two sons work with their dad in the business; Dwayne is married to Lacy who teaches at Hudson and Dustin is married to Mikki who is an accounting professor at SFA. As we were visiting, Vicky’s daughter, Ashley Courtney, came in to meet her mom, Kathy and Royce to go to lunch. She and her husband John Courtney who is the high school principal at Hudson, have purchased the former Pumpkin Patch Daycare in Burke. They plan to change the name to Building Blocks Academy. Oh, I also learned that Gladys Mettlen from Diboll is “aunt” to Vicky and Ashley.

Fran and John McClain have had guests visiting with them from Alabama. Katharine and Gerald Nichols from Hoover and Ann and Joe Pridgen from Monroeville. The guys enjoyed playing golf while the ladies visited and did a little shopping that included stopping at Pouland’s. J. T. and Maudine Frisby from Lufkin came in to buy Colorado pinto beans.

Four good friends, JoNell Placker, Mary Lou Havard, Bess Andrews and Kathreen Chuke, all enjoyed a drive to Wells to eat lunch at DeLeon’s. They were pleasantly surprised when they learned that Bobby Jones paid for their lunch. Arriving in Diboll they stopped at the round table just in time to have a piece of Andrea’s warm pumpkin pie crunch for dessert. Leonard Robison was sitting at the table and hesitantly tried a piece of the pumpkin crunch. He has only eaten pumpkin pie a total of two times but admitted Andrea’s was good.

We have a new cookbook for sale here at Pouland’s. The Livingston FFA Booster Club Cookbook is full of good recipes for $10. Cookbooks are always a nice gift.
Don’t forget to come see us…’round the table.

Tyler Allen, son of Gary and Chantea Allen, has been chosen to be part of the Texas FFA News Staff Program and will be involved with the online publication October 2015 – June 2016. He will submit monthly Texas FFA News articles, videos and photos. Tyler will be awarded a $1000 scholarship at the conclusion of his term. Tyler Allen is also now a contributing writer for the official Texas A & M University Newspaper “The Battalion”. Two of the articles he has written have made the front page of the paper. The Battalion, has been a student newspaper at Texas A&M University since 1893, it is a forum for student expression, which serves the University community by accurately and fairly reporting the news of the day and by developing informed opinions regarding issues of interest to Battalion readers. The Battalion and the batt.com trains students in news journalism by setting high standards and by providing the resources and guidance to reach those standards. All content is written, edited and produced by students. The publication offers excellent opportunities to gain valuable experience for journalistic and related careers. Participation is not limited to any course of study for classification, but open to all interested students. Student editors, writers and other staff members receive salaries commensurate with their duties and responsibilities. The Battalion is published Monday through Friday during fall and spring semesters, and twice a week in the summer session. It is distributed to students, faculty and staff on campus and at many apartments and other high traffic areas in College Station.

2014 Diboll High School graduate, Tyler Allen, along with approximately 400 other sophomores at Texas A & M applied to the 2015-2016 SAIL (Sophomores Advancing In Leadership) group on campus. After the application and interview process 75 sophomores were chosen to be a part of this group with Tyler Allen being named one of them. The purpose of SAIL is to involve Texas A&M sophomores in a leadership organization where they can grow as leaders with the aid of interactive speakers, leadership retreats, meetings, and various leadership activities, all while becoming a part of a support group that will last many years beyond each member’s time in SAIL. Tyler has two brothers; Dylan is a senior at DHS and Riley is a preschooler.

Carmen Grumbles Miranda has returned from another RSVP bus adventure in hopes of seeing the leaves change colors; unfortunately, they were about two weeks too early. In spite of that, the group had a great trip sightseeing for 10 days. Some of the stops included the Vulcan Park and Museum in Birmingham, AL where the world’s largest cast iron statue; made of 100,000 pounds of iron and 56 feet tall, stands at the top of Red Mountain overlooking the city of Birmingham. In Stauton, VA, the group toured the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Museum. In New Gloucester, Maine they took a guided tour of farms and saw Holstein dairy cows and the Equestrian Center. In Boothbay, Maine, the group rode the Boothbay narrow gauge steam train and explored the historic exhibits, antiques and the HO scale model railroad exhibit.

They took another guided tour in Kennebunkport of coastal villages. Highlights of this tour included Dock Square, the Bush family estate at Walker’s Point, the Franciscan Monastery, downtown Kennebunkport, the Seaside Trolley Museum where they enjoyed a ride on an authentically restored streetcar. In Freeport, Maine the group enjoyed seeing and shopping in the huge LL Bean’s Flagship store. In Portland, Maine they toured the Victoria Mansion, one of the most important historic house museums and collections of the mid Victorian period anywhere in America. Built 1858-1860, it boasts over 90% of the furnishings of the original owner and is an unparalleled example of pre-Civil War grandeur. In the historical district, they saw houses of sea captains and views of Longfellow’s boyhood home. They saw one of the most photographed lighthouses in America, The Portland Head, one of Maine’s many lighthouses and the oldest of them. Their trip continued on to Hartford, CT where the group toured the impressive Connecticut State Capitol. It was along here that the tour had to make an unscheduled stop when the bus started smoking. After waiting for five hours, thankfully at a travel stop area, the group boarded a different bus and arrived at their destination in York, PA at 2:30 in the morning. That didn’t slow this group down, they went on to tour Baltimore, MD and ended their fun stops with a beautiful view of Chattanooga, TN from riding the Lookout Mountain Incline Railway. Sounds like a great trip. Carmen shared she ate all the lobster she could while in Maine. I will share with her and others, there is a beautiful wall-size photograph of Maine’s Portland Head lighthouse in Lufkin’s Red Lobster.

Several guys from this area have taken trips toward the northwest US to enjoy a few days hunting in cooler, higher and sometimes wetter parts of Colorado. Dennis Lenderman and Jerry Hemphill pulled a converted horse trailer/camper to Colorado and had to spend most of their time watching it rain. Ricky Morris and his dad, Larry, along with brothers Jim and Bill Lumpkin traveled further north near Rifle, CO and camped in tents. Larry Morris was the only one to bring home the bacon, or rather, venison. It snowed on this group and they were pretty disgusted at having to spend 3 hours on a mountain pass because truckers did not heed the instructions to put on their snow chains and were sliding all over the highway. They also got caught up in all the down pouring rains when coming through Corsicana.

We had a nice surprise visit from former Dibollian, Doug Cooke and his wife, Laura who live in Ft. Smith, AK. They bought Anasazi beans and a jar of our very popular Chow Chow. They were on their way to Houston to visit his dad, Stacy Cooke and wife. Lonnie Wallace called from Wisconsin and ordered some Colorado pinto beans. He wasn’t able to come to Texas because he is too busy spoiling a new great-grandson, Avery Cooper.

The Diboll Civic Club sponsors CHRISTMAS BLESSINGS whose co-chairmen are Bessie Furgurson and Delana Hendrick. There are almost 250 kids, ages newborn to 17 that will have a better Christmas because of this organization. Monetary donations are always welcomed and large boxes are placed around town for people to donate new toys. The boxes are located at First Bank & Trust, Temple Library, Temple Inland Credit Union, the lobby at Georgia Pacific and here at Pouland’s. This is a very worthy organization that needs your help.

Pam Burnette and Katrina Hagan are two ladies who are helping to raise money for the medical expenses of Daniel Hagan who has kidney disease. You have until November 6th to place your order for homemade pumpkin and pecan pies by calling 829-4631 or 281-995-0496. Thank you and God Bless.
Come see us…round the table.

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Welcome to my website!

Pouland Real Estate Agency has been serving the real estate needs of Angelina County and the Diboll, TX area for more than 40 years. Buyers and Sellers in this area are assisted and served with needs in Residential, Commercial, Building Lots, Land and Rental Properties.

Sandra Pouland is the owner and broker and is a member of the National, Texas and Lufkin Associations of Realtors. She is also a graduate of the Real Estate Institute of Texas.

Pouland Real Estate Agency is located in Diboll at 611 N. Temple Dr. (U.S. Hwy 59), just 10 miles south of Lufkin, TX where CHI St. Luke's Health Memorial and Woodland Heights Medical Center are located. Look through this website to access every local and state property listed for sale in real estate. Find homes for sale and land for sale in East Texas. Feel free to contact Sandra for assistance or questions. Sandra welcomes each opportunity to serve you.

Call the Pouland Real Estate Agency for any and all of your Diboll, TX and Angelina County real estate needs: (936) 829-4040.

Testimonials

“The most impressive quality of Mrs. Pouland is her ability to listen and understand the needs of her client.”
K. Morrison

“Sandra Pouland represented us in the purchase and it was a blessing ... Sandra kept constant contact to update us on each phase of the transaction.”
Gary Gores

“Sandra sold our previous home ... She also sold us our current home ... a trustworthy person, a caring person and a great friend ...”
Joe Paul Stovall

“Paid attention to details ... I received very prompt replies to my questions.”
T. Casinger

“With over 30 years of experience in our area Sandra and her team are great! When I think of Sandra I think of honesty and integrity with a caring heart second to none.”
Gary Martell
Past Superintendent
Diboll ISD